Vibratory motor



' July 10, 1951 s. A. DENMAN 2,559,602

VIBRATORY MOTOR Filed Jan. 21, 1948 GHorneq Patented July 10, 1951 VIBRATORY MOTOR Stephen A. Denman, Piqua, Ohio, assignor to Piqua Engineering, Inc., Piqua, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application January 21, 1948, Serial No. 3,589

9 Claims.

This invention relates to electric motors, and more particularly to vibratory motors.

There has long :been a need and a demand for an efficient but simple motor of the present type. It is particularly adapted for use in connection with motorized toys, games, and industrial applications where a relatively slow speed, constant high torque motor is required. Heretofore such applications have been satisfied by using small shading ring or synchronous type motors in connection with a gear reduction unit. Not only have such units become relatively high priced, but the efiiciency thereof is greatly reduced by use of the gear reduction unit. The instant construction results in a motor which not only is considerably more efficient, but is more powerful and more economical to build.

The object of the present invention therefore is to improve the construction as well as the means and mode of operation of electric motors, whereby they may not only be economically manufactured and operated, but will be more efiicient in use, uniform in operation, having few operating parts and be unlikely to get out of repair.

A further object of the invention is to obtain an electric motor of such simple, economical construction as to be adaptable for use in toys, games or the like, and which is yet of sufficiently rugged and powerful design as to permit general commercial use thereof.

Another object of the invention is to adapt a vibratory electric motor for rotary drive of an output shaft through a step-by-step advance ment thereof.

A further object of the invention is to embody the feature of reversibility in a vibratory motor adapted to turn a rotor.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electric motor having the advantageous structural features and the inherent meritorious characteristics herein described.

With the above primary and other incidental objects in view as will more fully appear in the specification, the invention intended to be protected byLetters Patent consists of the features of construction, the parts and combinations thereof, and the mode of operation or their equivalents, as hereinafter described or illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In carrying out the above objects there has been conceived a concrete embodiment of the invention, comprising vibratory motor elements including a coil and a stator, and an armature which oscillates in response to the intermittent energizing of the coil, and further comprising a rotor wheel peripherally mounting a coil spring vision of special or duplicate springs and suitable control means, the motion of the armature may be selectively applied to the rotor wheel to obtain reversibility.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown the preferred but obviously not necessarily the only form of embodiment of the invention, there is illustrated in Fig. 1 a perspective of an electric motor constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the motor of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an exploded View in perspective of the rotor assembly;

Figs. 4 and 5 are fregmentary views showing a modification of the motor adapting it for reversible operation; and

Figs. 6 and '7 are views similar to Figs. 4 and 5 showing a second form of reversible rotor assembly.

Referring to the drawings, an electric motor,

constructed in accordance with the illustratedembodiment of the invention comprises a metalplate 10 forming the motor base or support. On.

one side of the base i0 is a stator H made of. stacked laminations secured to each other and to the base 10 by screws I2. The stator ll mounted thereon a coil l3 made up of multiple turns of magnetic wire and so positioned on the stator and suitably insulated therefrom as to introduce magnetic lines of force in the stator when the coil is energized by an electric current. Positioned above the stator H and coil 13 is an armature l4 secured to and pivotally carried by a stud I6 set in the base 19. The armature extends in the opposite direction past the stud, Hiv

The armature I4 is urged in the opposite direction by spring I9 against the yielding resistance of which thearmature is attracted by the coil l3.

Such movement produces a continually oscillata.

ing motion of the armature l4 and level l5 about pivot stud l6.

The spring I9 is interposed between the lower surface of armature l4 and a shoulder 2| inhas tegral with a screw stud 22. Above and below the shoulder 2 I, the stud 22 is screw threaded. Above shoulder 2| the stud is passed loosely through the armature I4, above which a rubber bumper 23 and a lock nut 23 are mounted thereon. Below shoulder 2| the stud is in treaded engagement with an ear 2.5 projecting laterally from body. plate I0. By adjustment of the lock nut 24 along said screw stud 22 the tension of spring I9 and the amplitude of movement of armature I3 may be varied.

When the electric motor is used in connection with an alternating current supply, mechanical means for obtaining intermittent energizing of the coil I3 is unnecessary. In the case of a direct current supply, it is necessary, however, that the current be interrupted to obtain the vibratory oscillation of armature I4 and lever I5. The use of various standard types of circuit interrupters are possible. One such device is shown in the drawings, comprising an electrical contact 26 carried by armature I4, while a mating contact 21 is supported on an arm 28 fastened to the base I0. The contacts are connected in the energizing circuit for the coil I3 and in series therewith. Thus, when spring Ill returns armature I3 upward, contacts 23 and 21 are engaged to close the electrical circuit through coil I3. The coil, accordingly, is energized to attract armature I4, which moves toward the coil against the yieldin resistance of spring I 9. Such motion disengages the contacts 26 and 2! and opens the circuit through coil I3. Responsive thereto, the coil is deenergizecl and the armature I3 is again moved upward by the action of spring I3 to repeat the above sequence of operations.

In any event, and whether the motor is used in connection with an alternating current source or a direct current source, the effect is one of intermittent energizing of the coil I3, thereby producing a vibratory oscillating motion of armature I4 and lever I5 about pivot I6.

The end of base If) opposite that embodying ear 25 provides a bearing for a rotor shaft 29. One end of the shaft 23 is mounted in base I3, while the opposite end of the shaft is mounted in a plate 3I spaced from the base ID by spacer blocks 32. Integral with or otherwise fixed to the rotor shaft 29 is a rotor wheel 33, the rotor assembly being so arranged as to place the wheel 33 between plate 3! and base If]. As so positioned, the wheel 33 is approximately in line with the lever I5 and in part underlies the end of such lever projecting beyond pivot stud I3.

Mounted on wheel 33 in peripheral surrounding relation thereto, is a coil spring 34. One end of the spring 34 parallels the several coils thereof and lies on. the surface of the wheel 33. The other end 35 of the spring is turned outward and passed through an opening in a lug 36 dependent from the adjacent end of lever I3. The coil spring 34, accordingly, is connected to lever I5 and armature I4 and partakes of the oscillating action of these parts.

The arrangement is such that motion of the lever I5 in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 2) about the pivot stud I3 serves to move the lug 36 upward to impart a winding impulse to the spring 34, which during the initial movement of the lever I5 tightens the spring upon wheel 33. Continued motion of the lever I5 and lug 33 in the same direction is transmitted through springv 34 into a turning motion of wheel 33 and its shaft 29. Accordingly, the wheel 33 and shaft 29 are advanced an increment of movement each above is of the unidirectional type. shaft 23 may be and is driven in only one directhe lever I5 of Figs. 1 to 3.

time coil I3 is energized to attract armature I4. In the period that coil I3 is deenergized, lever I5 is moved by spring I9 in a counter-clockwise direction about stud I6. This motion produces, first, a loosening of the spring 33 upon wheel 33 and then a sliding motion of the spring relative to the wheel 33 back to its starting position. Such friction as there may be between the coil spring 33 and wheel 33 during this return movement is not enough to overcome the inertia of the wheel and the friction of shaft 29 in its bearings. Thus, for each to and fro stroke of the armature I l and lever I5, occasioned by the energizing and deenergizing of coil I3, wheel 33 and rotor shaft 29 are advanced an increment of motion. The rapidity of the vibrations of lever I5 is such that the advancement of the motor shaft 23 is a substantially continuous motion of rotation in one direction.

The coil spring 34 may in some instances be subject to backlashing when it expands during the return stroke of lever I5. As a guard against such action and to limit expansion of the spring, there may be provided a keeper 3? in the form of a metal ring arranged to surround spring 34 upon wheel 33. An opening 33 in keeper 3? permits the passage of spring end 35 therethrough.

There is a further possibility that wear may result in some lost motion between the spring end 35 and lug 35. As a guard against such lost motion, there may further be provided a spring 33 connected at one end to the spring end 35 and at its other end to one of the spacer blocks 32. The spring 33 acts to maintain spring end 33 in contact with one side of the opening in lug 36 through which the spring end is passed. No opportunity thus is afforded for this opening to become enlarged through wear, resulting in lost motion between the spring end and the lever I5.

The speed of rotation of shaft 29 is a function of several factors. These include the frequency of movement of lever I5, the amplitude of movement of lever I5, the diameter of wheel 33, and the amount of lost motion between the various moving parts. The torque developed by shaft 29 is a function of the strength of the magnetic field set up in stator I I.

The motor shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and described That is, the

tion. A reverse drive of the output shaft of the motor is also contemplated by the present invention.

The reversible motor may take a number of forms, one of which is here illustrated in Figs. 4

and 5, and another of which is here shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, a fragment of a lever arm 4| is shown, corresponding to Adjacent to and in alignment with lever @I is a rotor wheel 42, corresponding to rotor wheel 33 of Figs. 1 to 3. Surrounding wheel 42 is a coil spring 43 which is similar to spring 34 of Figs, 1 to 3 except that in this instance the opposite ends of the spring project in spaced parallel relation toward lever II. The ends of spring 43 extend through a rectangular opening 44 in an upstanding lug 45 on the end of lever ll. The spaced relation of the ends of spring 33 is such that the spring ends lie respectively adjacent opposite ends of opening 44. Accordingly, when the lug 35 oscillates in accompaniment with the lever M, the spring 43 tends to move to and fro on the wheel 42. Provision is made for selectively anchoring the ends of Spring 33 relatively to lever 3| in such way that motion of the lever 4| in one direction or the other will serve to tighten spring 43 upon wheel 42 and to turn the wheel. The selective anchoring means is represented by a lever 45 pivotally mounted at 41 to the lever 4| and including a forwardly projecting arm 48 extending laterally between the spaced ends of spring 43. The lever 41 is shiftable by hand to positions adjacent to or in contact with selected ends of the spring 43 whereby to link the spring end so confined with lever 4|. The selected spring end thus corresponds to spring end 35 of Figs. 1 to 3. It will be understood that in shifting arm 48 from cooperative relation with one end of spring 43 to the other, the stroke of lever 4| during which the spring is tightened upon wheel 42 is reversed, and, accordingly, the direction of rotation of the wheel is reversed.

The second form of reversing mechanism is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. As shown therein, an armature carrying lever 49 is formed with an upstanding lug 5| receiving the free ends of a pair of coiled springs 52 and 53 surrounding a rotor wheel 54. The springs 52 and 53 are reversely wound upon wheel 54 and the inner ends thereof lie adjacent one another in projecting parallel relationship at a point diametrically opposite the outer free ends received in lug 5|. Positioned between the inner ends of springs 52 and 53 is a stud 55 projecting laterally from the end of a lever 56 pivoted at 51. The lever 56 is movable by hand about the pivot 51 to cause stud 55 selectively to engage the ends of springs 52 and 53. When so engaged by the stud 55 the selected spring 52 or 53 is prevented from assuming a gripping contact with the wheel 54. Accordingly, the spring 52 or 53 not engaged by stud 55 is effective to turn wheel 52. Thus, by selective adjustment of lever 56 either spring 52 or 53 may be made ineffective and the direction of rotation of wheel 54 so determined.

Motors of the present type are admirably suited for use in connection with toys, such as construction sets, trains, and other types of selfpropelled toy vehicles. A wide range of use of such motors is also possible since they may be adapted for use with flashlight batteries, dry cells, transformers, rectifiers, or line voltage by a simple change in the characteristics of the coil l3, and adjustment of the return spring l9. They have also been found particularly useful in connection with coin operated machines, since they have relatively few parts, and are unlikely to get out of repair.

One of the biggest advantages of the present motors is the economy and simplicity of construction. Use of expensive gear reduction units, as is done in connection with the normal shading ring or induction motors, is completely eliminated while producing a more eflicient motor. Furthermore, motors of the present type have been found to produce a greater torque or driving power for the amount of power supplied thereto. If complete quietness is a prerequisite for a particular application, the present motor may be completely submerged in oil or other sound deadening fluid and sealed therein without in any way impairing its operation.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thus provided a device of the character described possessing the particular features of disadvantage before enumerated as desirable, but which obviously is susceptible of modification in its form, proportions, detail construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

While in order to comply with the statute the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific-features shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosed comprise the preferred form of several modes of putting the invention into effect, and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms or modificationswithin the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:-

1. An electric motor, comprising a coil, a stator, an armature movable in forward and reverse directions relatively to said coil and said stator in response to the energizing and deenergizing ofsaid coil, a rotor and an inherently resilient spring freely coiled on said rotor one end only of the spring being connected to said armature, said spring tightening on said rotor and turning said rotor during motion of the armature in one direction and loosening and sliding on said rotor during motion of the armature in the opposite direction.

2. An electric motor, comprising a coil, an armature oscillating relatively to said coil in re sponse to the energizing and deenergizing thereof, adjustable spring means at one end of said armature for regulating the amplitude of the movement thereof, a rotor adjacent the opposite end of said armature, and a coil spring wound on said rotor having one end connected to the said opposite end of said armature, the opposite end of said coil spring freely resting upon the periph cry of said rotor, the construction and arrangement of parts being such that oscillating motion of said armature alternately tightens and loosens said spring upon said rotor, continued motion of said armature in a direction to tighten said spring acting through said spring to turn said rotor.

3. An electric motor according to claim 2, characterized by a band surrounding said coil spring to limit the expansion or loosening thereof.

4. An electric motor comprising a coil, a stator, an armature oscillating relatively to said coil and said stator in response to the energizing and deenergizing of said coil, a rotor, and means freely wound upon said rotor, one end of said means being connected to said armature for moving said rotor in step-by-step fashion in response to the movement of the armature the other end of said means being freely supported upon the periphery of the rotor.

5. An electric motor, comprising a body, a coil supported by said body, a stator supported by said body in operative relation to said coil, an armature movable toward and away from said coil in response to the energizing and deenergizing thereof, a lever carrying said armature and pivotally connected to said body for oscillating movement in response to the induced motion of said armature, means defining a rotor bearing in said body adjacent one end of said lever, a rotor mounted in said bearing, and a coil spring having a free end surrounding said rotor the other end of the spring being connected to the adjacent end of said lever, motion of said lever in one direction serving first to tighten said spring upon said rotor and then to impart to said rotor through said spring a turning movement limited in accordance with the extent of continued motion of said lever in said one direction, and motion of said lever in the opposite direction serving first to loosen said spring and then to turn said spring in a reverse direction relatively to said rotor.

'6. An electric motor according to claim 5, characterized by resilient means associated with that end of said spring connected to said lever for maintaining said spring in tensioned engagement with the lever.

'7. An electric motor including a coil, an armature oscillating relatively to said coil in response to the energizing and deenergizing of said coil, a rotor, a pair of coil springs reversely wound on said rotor and having respective outer ends operatively connected to said armature whereby motion of said armature in opposite directions serves to tighten respective springs on said rotor and to turn said rotor, and means for selectively springing the inner ends of said coil springs from gripping. engagement with said rotor whereby to render one of said springs ineffective and thus to select a direction of rotation for said rotor.

8. An electric motor of the vibratory type, including an oscillatory power member, means for successively moving said member in opposite directions of oscillatory movement comprising an intermittently energized electromagnet capable of moving said member in one direction, a return spring against the yielding resistance of which said member is moved under influence of the electromagnet and under the resilient pressure of which the member is moved in the opposite direction, a rotor shaft comprising the output shaft of the motor, an inherently tensioned resilient connection between the oscillatory power member and the rotor shaft, the construction and arrangement being such that movement of the power member in one direction increases the tension thereby moving the rotor shaft in synchronism with the power member, and movement by an expansible and contractible spring wound on said rotor one end of which is connected to said armature for moving said rotor in step-bystep fashion in response to the movement of the armature, the other end of said spring freelyresting upon the periphery of the rotor, and resilient means associated with that end of the spring connected to the armature for maintaining said expansible and contractible spring in tensioned engagement with the armature.

STEPHEN A. DENMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 401,152 Geary Apr. 9, 1889 1,4699125 OLeary Apr. 15, 1924' FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 236,592 Great Britain July 6, 1925 

